Tramper foot with resilient edge structure



April 8, 1969 R. D. DAY ET AL TRAMPER FOOT WITH RESILIENT EDGE STRUCTURE Filed March 9, 1967 Sheet INVENTORJ ATTORNE Y April 8, 1969 R. D. DAY ET AL TRAMPER FOOT WITH RESILIENT EDGE STRUCTURE Sheet Filed March 9, 1967 R/cfiar'd D. ID y dJe ob C A/e/fze/ INVENTORS ATTORNEY A ril 8, 1969 R D. DAY E TRAMPER FOOT WITH RESILIENT EDGE STRUCTURE Sheet Filed March 9, 196'.

INVENTORJ ATTORNEY nited States Patent Offioe 3,437,153 Patented Apr. 8, 1969 US. Cl. 100-215 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In order to prevent damage to the tramper foot or box structure in a double box type press for cotton lint and other fibers, the ends of the face-forming battens or bars of the tramper foot are formed of laterally yieldable elements, such as short sections of rubber hose.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to presses of the type used in baling cotton lint and other fibers and consists of novel tramper foot structure for use therewith.

Prior art A double box press of the type disclosed, for instance, in Patent No. 3,130,665, conventionally includes a pair of boxes rigidly secured side by side and rotatable about a center post between tramper and press positions. The tramper is provided with a foot structure which recipro cates vertically to apply initial compaction to the fibers. In the tramper position, fibers collected from a feed flue are fed into the press box beneath the lifted tramper foot by means of a suitable pusher. While it is desirable that the tramper foot occupy substantially all of the cross sectional area of the press box, a slight clearance between the foot and box walls is customarily provided to insure free movement of the foot. Due to the influence of the lint pusher, the foot may be shifted slightly toward the press box wall opposite the pusher. Obviously, if this shifting of the tramper foot is suflicient to take up the clearance provided, the foot may strike the press box wall and cause damage to the foot or box structure. Suggestions for alleviating this problem have included construction of the face of the tramper foot of Wooden battens which will splinter in case of interference with the press box wall and the provision of rollers at the forward edge of these battens. Nevertheless, these expedients have proved only partly successful.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordanc with the present invention, the pressureapplying face of the tramper foot is formed by a plurality of parallel pipes or bars to which the tramper actuating mechanism is secured. Projecting inwardly from these bars toward the front wall of the press-that is, the wall opposite the lint pusherthere are provided short sections of laterally resilient hose which will yield in case the tramper foot shifts forwardly enough to engage the press box wall and, thereby, prevent damage either to the foot or box wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings which illustrates the invention:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section, largely schematic, illustrating portions of a fiber press including the tramper foot, fiber feed flue, and pusher mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a view of the parts in FIG. 1 and showing the tramper foot lowered into the press box;

FIG. 3 is a top view and section illustrating the tramper foot structure, portions being broken away to better illustrate underlying parts;

FIG. 4 is a section taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detail section taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is an elevation of one of the batten hose adapters.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The press shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 includes front and back walls 8 and 9, these ordinarily being pivoted doors as illustrated in the above-mentioned Neitzel Patent No. 3,130,665, in which are mounted dogs 10 and 11, the inward extensions of which will yield downwardly to permit the passage of fibers 12 into the lower part of the press box and which limit the upward expansion of the partially-compacted cotton fibers after the tramper foot structure 13 is withdrawn upwardly. Secured to the rear edge of the tramper foot structure 13 is a lint shield or curtain 14 which, in the lowered position of the tramper foot, as in FIG. 2, covers the opening 15 in the rear wall of the press through which fibers are moved into the press box.

Projecting rearwa-rdly from the press box framing, but not secured to the boxes, is a fiber-feeding flue 18 and a pusher box 19 in which reciprocates horizontally a lint pusher wall 20 to the upper edge of which there is secured a right angularly projecting board 21. Pusher wall 20 has rollers 22 at its lower edge which slide along rails 23, while the rear edge of top board 21 has rollers 24 operable on rails 25. Secured beneath rails 25 and between framing walls 26 and 27 is a hydraulic cylinder 28 forming part of a motor which actuates pusher wall 20. Flue 18 has a bottom opening 29 through which lint may be dropped into box 19 in the manner illus trated in FIG. 2, when pusher walls 20 and 21 are withdrawn rightwardly.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, when pusher wall 20 is shifted leftwardly to force the collected lint folds into the press box, these folds may be of adequate volume to substantially fill the press box above dogs 10 and 11 and thus apply a certain amount of leftward bias to tramper foot 13. Since the tramper foot, ideally, should as nearly as possible fill the cross sectional area of the press box, there can be very little leftward or forward shifting of the tramper foot without causing interference of the foot with the press front wall 8, as suggested in FIG. 4.

As explained above, according to the present invention the left-hand or forward edge of the tramper foot is made yielding to prevent damage to the foot and/or press box in such case. For this purpose, the tramper foot structure is made out of a plurality, in this instance, seven, of preferably metal pipe sections 30 and 31 (FIGS. 4 and 5), at the ends of the foot structure, and 32, intermediately thereof. Rigidly secured to the upper surfaces of end pipe sections 30 and 31, as by welding are flange elements 33 which are laterally substantially coextensive with the pipes, While flange elements 35 and 36 are secured to the upper edges of intermediate pipe sections 32 and braced by gusset ribs 37 and 38. Extending across all of pipe sections 30, 31, and 32 and secured as by bolts 40 are angle bars 41 and 42 which rigidly secure all of the pipe members together and to which are secured the actuating rods 43 and 44 which, under the influence of siutable motor means, not shown, cause the tramper foot structure to reciprocate vertically into and out of the press box on the tramper side, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Flange elements 33, 35, and 36 do not extend horizontally beyond the bottom flanges of these angle bars, thus leaving spaces as at '44 (FIG. 4) between the right-hand ends thereof and the short flanges 45 welded to the rear or right-hand ends of all of pipes 30, 31, and 32 for attachment of lint curtain 14. The lint curtain is slotted between the adjacent edges of flanges 33 and 36 to receive dogs 11 when the foot is lowered.

All of the pipes 30, 31, and 32 extend only partially across the press box from rear wall 9 to front wall 8, and the balance of this space is traversed by short, laterally-resilient hose sections 46 which are secured to the left or forward ends of the pipes by means of stepped adapter plugs as shown in FIG. 6. Each. of these plugs has a larger potrion 47 which is snugly lodged in the left end of the corresponding pipe 30, etc., and a smaller projection 48 which is inserted in the adjacent end of one of the flexible pipe sections 46. The pipe section and adapter end 48 are secured together by a bolt 49 extending through aligned holes in the hose and adapter part 48. Hose sections 46, while being yieldable in case of interference with wall 8, nevertheless are of sufiicient rigidity to apply the desired initial compaction to the fibers being tramped into the press box.

Accordingly, the tramper foot structure is provided with a resilient edge portion which will yield, in case the foot structure should be displaced against the front wall of the press, as suggested in FIG. 4, to prevent damage to either the foot or press wall structure. The resilient end portions of the pipes or bars, which replace the usual wooden battens which usually make up the pressure face of the tramper foot, can be readily replaced simply by withdrawal of bolts 49. The exact form of pipes or bars 30, 32, and 33 may me modified as desired. Of course, adequate space is provided between the flexible tube sections 46 to permit the tramper foot structure to pass the forward dogs 10, and these spaces as well as the previously-mentioned spaces 44 provide for ready return to the press box area of fibers which may escape upwardly between the bar flange and hose sections during the pressure stroke of the tramper foot. The invention may be modified in various other respects as will occur to those skilled in the art, and the exclusive use of all modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

We claim:

1. The combination in a fiber press having a press box and tramper mechanism to pack fibers in said box, of tramper foot structure received in said box and spaced from the box walls with minimum clearance consistent with free movement of the said structure in said box under normal operating conditions, said foot structure having a yieldable edge portion to accommodate lateral displacement of said foot structure in said box.

2. The combination described in claim 1 in which said foot structure including said edge portion is sufiiciently form-sustaining to apply predetermined compaction pressure to fibers in said box.

3. The combination described in claim 2 in which said box includes side walls and further including pusher means for forcing fibers into said box in the path of said foot structure and toward one of said walls, said yieldable edge portion of said foot structure confronting said last-mentioned wall to prevent damage to said foot structure or wall in case of displacement of said structure so as to engage said wall.

4. The combination described in claim 3 in which said foot structure is mounted for reciprocating movements in said box and is relatively shiftable toward said wall during said movements.

5. The combination described in claim 4 in which said foot structure comprises a plurality of parallel bars partially traversing said box between opposite box walls thereof including said last-mentioned wall, and resilient extensions of said bars adjacent said last-mentioned wall.

6. The combination described in claim 4 in which said foot structure comprises a plurality of parallel bars partially traversing said box and sections of laterally resilient tubing secured one to each of said bars and projecting endwise therefrom toward said last-mentioned wall.

7. The combination described in claim 6 in which said parallel bars consist of sections of metal pipe and further including rigid flanges on said pipe sections and tramper foot actuating means secured to said flanges.

8. The combination described in claim 7 in which flanges extend along only portions of the combined lengths of said pipe sections and the resilient extensions thereof to provide openings in said foot structure to permit return to said box of fibers passing through and/ or around said foot structure during operation of the tramper mechanism.

9. The combination described in claim 8 further including lint shielding curtain structure secured to Said flange parts at the opposite ends of said bars from said resilient tubing sections.

10. A tramper foot for a fiber press comprising a plurality of parallel bars, flanges projecting sidewardly of said bars, and laterally resilient tube sections projecting endwardly from said bars, said bars, flanges, and tube sections forming the fiber engaging face of the tramper and being sufficiently form-sustaining to apply predetermined compaction force to fibers being pressed, said tube sections forming a laterally resilient edge portion for yielding in case of contact between said foot and adjacent press structure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 179,833 7/ 1876 Westbrook 295 242,598 6/ 1881 Castle 100295 1,273,334 7/1918 Crosby. 2,374,147 4/ 1945 Weeks 53-124 2,780,989 2./ 1957 Guy 100215 XR 3,017,730 1/1962; Rodish. 3,130,665 4/1964 Neitzel.

FOREIGN PATENTS 713,471 7/1965 Canada.

BILLY J. WILHITE, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 100220, 295 

